Area Rug Cleaning Glossary: A

Abrash
The natural and unpredictable variation in color that occurs in Oriental rugs over time when different dyes are used.

Acrylic
A man-made fiber used as a cheaper alternative to wool.

Acaraz
An important rug weaving center in Spain which thrived between 15th and 17th centuries.

Adam
A design and architectural trend popular in the second half of 18th century. Motifs used most frequently involved oval and octagonal shapes, and chief colors – gray, jasper, and blue. In England, some of the rugs copied the ceilings of the rooms for which they were commissioned.

Afghanistan
Country in South Asia, capital – Kabul. Handmade rugs are manufactured for the local markets as well as for exportation. Most common rugs from Afghanistan are a Turkoman style.

Afshan
(Persian), meaning an all-over layout.

Age
The age informs how old a rug is. The three major timelines are: Contemporary, Semi-Antique and Antique.

Agra
Agra is the heart of the rug and carpet weaving industry in India. Its cultural, architectural, and rug weaving peak Agra reached during the 16th and 17th centuries. It is famous for large cotton rugs in square formats, designed with all over floral patterns.

Ak Chuval
Turkmen for “white chuval,” a type of chuval with horizontal bands of pattern in pile and flat woven bands of plain weave, the elems are usually woven in pile with a white background color, hence the term “ak chvual.” Ak chuvals generally have five broad and six narrow piled bands above the white piled end panel.

Albania
Country in Southern Europe, capital – Tirana. Albania has a minor minor rug-producing industry, which began in the mid 1940s.

Algeria
Country in North Africa, capital -Algiers. Rugs from Algeria are manufactured for the local markets, and have not yet reached a Western market.

All-Over Design
A repeated pattern through the filed where no central design is present.

Amritsar
A city in India that was known weaving center in the late part of the 19th century because of the powerful rug demand in the U.S. and Europe during this time. Amritsar rugs have cotton foundation, use good quality wool, are double-wefted, and use the asymmetrical knot.

Aniline Dye
Aniline Dyes were first synthetic dyes used as a cheap alternative to vegetal ones. They were first developed in Europe in the 1850s but were shortly discovered to poses rapid fading qualities with exposure to light and water. They were banned in Iran in the early 1900, and eventually replaced with Chrome synthetic dyes everywhere else.

Antique
Rugs 60 years and older. / Finish A modern washing procedure which give the rug an antique look.

Arabesque
An elaborate motif of interlaced branches, leaves or flowers; can be woven in geometric or curvilinear pattern.

Arak
City in northwest Iran, where a large quantity of top quality rugs were woven in the late 19th century, when European companies commissioned large decorative rugs for the European market.

Armenia
Country in Southwest Asia, capital – Erevan. Armenians are the earliest known weavers of oriental rugs. A style that originated from this area is called Caucasian because Armenia is situated neat the Caucasus Mountains. Caucasian rugs can not be classified the way Persian and Turkish rugs are. In order to identify a Caucasian rug, its construction must be examined, including (though not limited to) the quality of wool, the way the sides are bound, and the variance in the color of the warp.

Armenian Rug
A group of rugs with Armenian inscription which were woven in Iran, Turkey, and the Caucasus. A typical Armenian rug patterns consist of geometric shapes. A large proportion of the inscribed Armenian rugs contain cross shapes, human figures, and geometric bird and animal figures not typically seen in other rugs.

Art Deco
Twentieth century movement in the decorative arts. It grew to influence architecture, design, and the visual arts in 1920s and is characterized by geometrical designs and bold colors.

Art Nouveau
A style in art, architecture, and design that gained popularity at the beginning of 20th century. It is characterized by winding flowing lines of flowers and leaves.

Art Silk
A cheaper alternative to silk, artificial silk yarn is made from cotton, rayon, or polyester. It is soft and silk-like to the touch.

Asymmetrical Knot
(aka Persian knot, Senneh Knot) There are two types of major knots used in oriental rug-weaving: the Persian knot, and the

Aubusson
A world-renowned French tapestry and carpet center dating back to 15th century. The origins go back to the arrival of weavers from Flanders who settled in Aubuson in the late 1500s. Also a style of rug. Over time Aubusson evolved into numerous styles such as Antoinette, Josephine, and Maison patterns. The original style, however, was a flat-weave rug, featuring floral elements, architectural motifs, and pastel colors.

Axminster
A small market town on the eastern border of Devon, England, which gave its name to a type of carpet. An Axminster-type loom was created in the town of Axminister during the industrial revolution. The loom is capable of weaving high quality carpets, enabling use of up to 70 colors, intricate geometric or floral patterns, and offering flexibility of design. Axminster carpets are now produced all over the world.

Azeribaijan
Country in Southwest Asia, capital – Baku. A style that originated from this area is called Caucasian because Baku is situated neat the Caucasus Mountains. Caucasian rugs can not be classified the way Persian and Turkish rugs are. In order to identify a Caucasian rug, its construction must be examined, including (though not limited to) the quality of wool, they way the sides are bound, and the variance in the color of the warp.

Azurite
A source of blue dye. Azurite is a deep blue copper mineral produced by weathering of copper ore deposits.